c/world · u/schizoidman@lemm.ee · 132 points
The Israeli government's actions in Gaza "can no longer be justified," said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Monday, signalling a profound shift in tone from one of Europe's traditionally most staunch supporters of Israel.
u/PostingInPublic@lemmy.world · 8 points
Yes, the actual news is that he said it, aloud and in public.
u/Saleh@feddit.org · 7 points
Problem is that it is only a rhetorical shift. At the same time Germany opposes to review the EU association agreement with Israel. The same day the government reemphasized that they want to continue selling weapons to Israel against a parliamentary initiative.
They try to claim that them "talking" to Israel is working, while opposing any actual action.
It is crucial not to let them get away with it. Merz is big on talk and it is often not followed by action, or by action directly opposing the talk. For instance they blew up the former government by blocking the taking on of new debt to finance infrastructure investments/upkeep that are direly needed. Now as the new government they passed a huge block of new debt to do exactly that.
It is a poor attempt of getting plausible deniability.
u/peregrin5@lemm.ee · -2 points
Umm, maybe because they killed, raped, and kidnapped ~~hundreds~~ thousands of innocent Israeli citizens. Hamas deserves to be and must be wiped out. But innocent Palestinians don't deserve to suffer.
u/taladar@sh.itjust.works · 8 points
Why? Have military responses been shown to improve the situation in the past few decades? Isn't October 7 the direct result of decades of military responses by both sides? Wouldn't it make more sense to suppress that instinctive desire for revenge and say "enough is enough, this approach is clearly not working"? Especially if you are the only side in the conflict that has a chance to keep everyone on your side from acting independently since guerrilla cells don't exactly lend themselves to centralized control.
u/burgerchurgarr@lemmus.org · 3 points
Why would colonial violence ever be justified?
u/AmidFuror@fedia.io · 20 points
Some kind of military response in Gaza was justified by October 7. Not the wholesale slaughter of civilians we have seen. But something beyond stern words of disapproval.
u/gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works · 40 points
Ok so despite the other salty comments, I do feel like this is a big shift in Germany’s rhetoric, and it’s a move in the right direction.
u/Goodmorningsunshine@lemmy.world · 23 points
When is genocide ever justified? Fuck Israel.
u/blakenong@lemmings.world · 7 points
Germany still sells Israel weapons.
u/SpicyLizards@reddthat.com · 7 points
No longer should have happened decades ago.
u/SoftestSapphic@lemmy.world · 6 points
"Only a little genocide is justified, but this is too much!"
u/Treczoks@lemmy.world · 1 points
Took him rather long to notice what nearly the whole world has known for quite some time now.